Software quality testing professionals often have excellent technical skills but little business understanding.
This is according to Johan Steyn, senior manager for Nedbank, who was speaking to ITWeb about his newly released book The Business of Software Testing. Steyn said he wrote the book to help software quality professionals grow as leaders with business acumen.
He believes that testing professionals need both technical and business skills to be successful in their profession. Few testing professionals have been trained in or exposed to the skills that are needed to navigate the map of the new world - which is being driven by test automation, DevOps cognitive and artificial intelligence as well as Internet of things, said Steyn.
Also, many in this occupation who "came through the ranks" and are now heading up quality assurance or testing capabilities' approach is not often driven by business and commercial principles, but by technology, test tools and frameworks, he added.
Over time, many in the software testing occupation are promoted in positions where they find themselves doing less testing, and dealing more with team issues, recruiting for and building their teams, budgeting, forecasting, working with external vendors, and navigating the various pitfalls of politics in corporate life, said Steyn.
They are required to be able to work with their peers in business, speak their language, and explain the process and benefits of testing with business acumen, said Steyn. They need to be trusted advisors and not primarily technical specialists, he added. Many in this profession are not ready to grow in a career where the lines between business, development, and testing are continually blurring, said Steyn.
He noted software quality management and testing are a means to an end and testing professionals should firstly take into account the objectives of customers and stakeholders.
Steyn noted that not only should those in this profession understand the offering in a technical sense but they should also be able to deal with customers in business terms. They need to understand sales pipeline management and the process of landing significant business with clients, he added.
In addition, many testers dream about starting a testing consultancy firm of their own, but those who do so, fail within the first year as they have no clue about the difficulties and questions that will arise from this move, said Steyn. "For example, how do you start and manage a business? How do you secure funding and control your cash flow? How do you propose your firm's offerings to new customers?
"Fewer still are test professionals who effectively plan their career paths and who are enabling themselves for the next step in their careers.
"Most test professionals have never learned how to 'sell themselves'. How do you build your brand and promote yourself? Are you seen as a thought leader? Have you been able to establish a network among your peers in the industry?"
He noted the book introduces these concepts to test professionals. Whether they plan to start their own company, or whether they want to climb the corporate ladder, The Business of Software Testing book would empower testers with the knowledge that is essential to prepare them for the next step in their career, said Steyn.
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